{"id":232439,"date":"2025-10-17T22:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/232439\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T22:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T22:10:09","slug":"pokemon-legends-z-a-rotom-phone-review-better-camera-higher-jumps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/232439\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A Rotom Phone review: better camera, higher jumps"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though the Pok\u00e9mon games\u2019 Rotom Phones haven\u2019t really changed all that much design-wise over the past few years, each generation has introduced new functionalities that made upgrading a no-brainer. Sword \/ Shield\u2019s<\/a> Rotom Phone \u2014 the very first one \u2014 came with a bare-bones camera that made it easy to snap wide-angle (screen)shots out in the Galar region\u2019s Wild Area. The second-generation Rotom Phone\u2019s camera in Scarlet \/ Violet<\/a> was a significant improvement, but the device\u2019s real standout feature was its ability to keep you from plummeting to your death<\/a> if you fell from a great height.<\/p>\n

While neither of the early Rotom Phones were as visually interesting as Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Arceus<\/a>\u2019 Arc Phone, they both spoke to how the Pok\u00e9mon universe\u2019s consumer tech has become increasingly streamlined and robust. That trend continues in Pok\u00e9mon Legends: Z-A with a new Rotom Phone that feels like it was designed for urban exploration.<\/p>\n

Like its predecessors, the third-gen Rotom Phone\u2019s conservative design is a reminder of how Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s gadgets have lost some of their personality in the time since Pok\u00e9dexes went from being physical objects to downloadable applications. But what the new phone lacks in aesthetic flair, it makes up for with improved hardware and a couple of fresh tricks \u2014 including one that makes leaping across rooftops a snap \u2014 that make it a must-have for anyone visiting present-day Lumiose City<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The GoodHands-free usability is more robustMore functional camera array with zoomRoto-Glide is a game-changerExcellent call quality and battery lifeThe BadPhysical design is getting a little long in the toothNo accessoriesMight not work outside of the Kalos regionNo snazzy Pok\u00e9dex artStill can\u2019t send your helper Rotom into battle<\/p>\n

As nice as it was to see Scarlet \/ Violet\u2019s Rotom Phone come with a second lens, one of the most frustrating things about the device was that there was no way to zoom in on things from a distance while you were wandering around Paldea. That second lens seemed like it didn\u2019t really do anything. You had to get physically close to wild pok\u00e9mon and then open up the camera app in order to take eye-catching photos of them, which made it very easy to wind up getting attacked. That would have been a nonstarter in Z-A\u2019s Lumiose, where unpartnered monsters will go out of their way to fight humans without hesitation.<\/p>\n

But in addition to adding a handy new zoom feature by way of a third (very functional) lens, the new Rotom Phone\u2019s back-facing camera array can also be used while you are moving \u2014 something that opens up a new world of possibilities for trainers who fancy themselves shutterbugs. It\u2019s easy to post up in Lumiose\u2019s Wild Zones, hide in the tall grass, and snap photos of wild pok\u00e9mon without them being aware of your presence. And being able to move while you\u2019re using the back cameras also makes it relatively simple to get the hell out of dodge in instances when something does catch sight of you and decides to launch an attack. (You do still have to remain still while you\u2019re using the new Rotom Phone\u2019s improved front-facing camera, though.)<\/p>\n

While the new Rotom Phone\u2019s front-facing camera can be used for video calls, when you try to take a selfie, the electric \/ ghost pok\u00e9mon living within the device will automatically activate the back-facing cameras and turn the handheld around. Previously you had to hold the second-generation phone in your hand or with a selfie stick in order to capture pics of yourself with your favorite partner pok\u00e9mon. But the new phone\u2019s resident Rotom can be directed to move the device around while taking pictures from various angles and distances, which gives you the ability to strike a pose hands-free.<\/p>\n

1\/5A pride of sleeping Pyroar. Image: Nintendo<\/p>\n

This is especially useful if you\u2019ve downloaded the app to participate in Lumiose\u2019s Z-A Royale and want to update your profile picture to something emotive. One major drawback, though, is that the new possessed phone requires you to stay still while you\u2019re directing it to take pictures of you. Using the phone\u2019s limited selection of built-in music, you can coax your pok\u00e9mon to sleep or get it worked up before you snap a candid or dramatic photo. None of the third-gen Rotom Phone\u2019s built-in filters are all that great, but it\u2019s easy enough to transfer them to another device<\/a> if you want to do some artistic post-processing of your own.<\/p>\n

Along with the Z-A Royale hub, an updated, Lumiose-specific Pok\u00e9dex is the new Rotom Phone\u2019s most useful application. It does all the basic \u2019dex stuff like track how many pok\u00e9mon you\u2019ve seen and caught, where specific species live within the city, and how they move. It also features a separate listing of pok\u00e9mon with Mega Evolved forms, but what\u2019s great about this version of the Pok\u00e9dex is that it gives every pok\u00e9mon that you can catch its own unique entry, which was not the case on the last Rotom Phone for some reason.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the new Pok\u00e9dex does not display the same kind of fancy artwork for monsters that Scarlet \/ Violet\u2019s did. But the new interface is cleaner, more intuitive to use, and does away with the last generation\u2019s excess skeuomorphism. The default map application also provides you with helpful information about which pok\u00e9mon appear in Lumiose\u2019s Wild Zones, where Z-A Royale battle zones pop up, and details about locations like shopping centers and Pok\u00e9mon Centers.<\/p>\n

By far, the new Roto-Glide functionality is what sets this generation of Rotom Phone apart from others. The last phone featured a safe-landing mode that activated whenever it detected that you had suddenly fallen a considerable distance. Roto-Glide builds on that idea by giving you a brief boost up when you jump from a ledge, which enables you to do a kind of bounce through the air. It\u2019s ideal for leaping across rooftops or completing some of Lumiose\u2019s many scaffolding obstacle courses.<\/p>\n

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The Roto-Glide feature can cushion your fall or give you a jump boost to leap across rooftops. Image: Nintendo<\/p>\n

Like the Arc Phone and both of the other Rotom Phones, the new model has fantastic battery life and call reception \u2014 at least within Lumiose City. I haven\u2019t been able to test the phone out beyond the city\u2019s limits, and it\u2019s not clear whether this model would work outside of the Kalos region. I also wasn\u2019t able to figure out how to activate the phone\u2019s wide-screen tablet mode, but other people seem to enjoy it. The thing runs like a dream, though.<\/p>\n

My biggest issue with the third-gen Rotom Phone is that it does not seem as if there are all that many (if any) cool accessories to help you make it feel more personal. The device appears to come in a variety of colors, like red, blue, yellow, white, and a stony gray. But it would have been great to see this model get some of the nifty phone cases that can be purchased across Paldea.<\/p>\n

Roto-Glide aside, the new Rotom Phone is a somewhat incremental upgrade if you\u2019re coming from the last generation, but you will need one if you really want to get the most out of your time in Lumiose City. The beefed-up camera alone makes this a much more useful tool to have as you embark on your next Pok\u00e9mon journey, and if there are some stylish accessories in the pipeline<\/a>, the device will be damn near perfect.<\/p>\n

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See All Tech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though the Pok\u00e9mon games\u2019 Rotom Phones haven\u2019t really changed all that much design-wise over the past few years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":232440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[88,166,559,1299,21326,12074,5260,900,172,74],"class_list":["post-232439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-entertainment","tag-gadgets","tag-gaming","tag-nintendo","tag-phone-reviews","tag-phones","tag-pokemon","tag-reviews","tag-tech","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=232439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/232439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/232440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=232439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=232439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=232439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}